With the Fourth of July coming up, here are some basic tips for shooting fireworks. At the end of the article I’ll tell you how I’m actually doing my fireworks shots for the last few years.
You can do a google search for “your city”, the “year”, and “fireworks” and find upcoming events with fireworks. I feel it’s important to include the year in your search or you’ll be seeing events from several years past. Remember fireworks are not just at the major holidays, but often follow sporting events and concerts.
Once you’ve picked your event, arrive early and decide where you want to shoot from and what you want to include in your image. Don’t forget there will be others (lots of others) arriving later so try to pick a location or shooting angle where they won’t be in the way. Also try not to be in anyone else’s way. I have found that many displays start too early, before the sky is really dark enough. There’s not much you can do about that except change the sky in post processing.
Basic Equipment You need a camera that allows you to set long exposure times, or preferably bulb mode. Almost any DSLR or mirrorless camera is adequate. Make sure your battery is freshly charged, and have backups with you. Long exposures, and especially using live view will drain batteries quickly. You can use almost any focal length depending what you want to include in your image. Do shoot loose (wider focal length) because where the bursts occur varies a lot, especially the height.
You will be using longer shutter speeds so you definitely need a sturdy tripod. A cable release is a most for sharp shots. Be careful where you put your tripod when there are others around. At best they may bump your tripod and blur your image. At worst they may trip on the legs and be injured. One very good tip that I read and can’t take credit for is to tape or rubber band glow sticks to each tripod leg.
A small flashlight or headlamp is useful for setting your camera controls. If you use a headlamp, be courteous and don’t shine it the face of the people you look at.
Don’t forget bug spray and water.
The image below was one of the first fireworks images I shot in digital back in 2008. It was shot with a Canon 20D (A whopping 8 MP, max 1600 ISO) and a 15-55 kit lens. You can buy the camera and lens used now for under $75. If I could shoot fireworks with this relic, whatever camera you have now is more than adequate.
Basic Settings Use a low ISO, 100 or 200 depending on your camera. Turn off long exposure noise reduction, which causes long delays (equal to your exposure time) between shots. Set your aperture at f/8 or f/11 for ISO 100 or f/11 or f/16 for ISO 200. Check after the first shot or two and see if you need to adjust. I like to use bulb mode, where the shutter opens when you press the cable release and stays open until you release it. I know others who set 5 or 10 seconds, but I feel I have more control with bulb mode. Some photographers open the shutter while covering the lens with a black card, and remove it to capture the fireworks, so there will be even less vibration.
Since your camera is on a tripod, you may need to turn off image stabilization. I find it’s usually necessary to turn it off on DSLR’s but often not necessary on mirrorless cameras.
Turn off auto focus, and set your camera focus to infinity. Don’t use auto white balance. I usually set daylight white balance, and adjust later in Lightroom if I need to. I always shoot raw, so that I have the most latitude for editing my images later. You may prefer to shoot JPG’s, but be sure that the highlights don’t blow out.
Shooting I try to listen for the soft boom of a firework launching and then open my shutter (I use bulb) until the aerial burst has ended. For the first burst or two quickly check your LCD to see if your exposure for the fireworks is OK. All you want to adjust is the aperture, and within or not very far from the settings above.
Most shows start slowly with only one or two bursts at a time. I try to only capture one or two bursts per shot at the beginning of the show. At the finale is when lots of bursts are fired in a short period of time, so once the finale starts I may capture 5-10 bursts, close my shutter and quickly reopen and repeat until the show is over.
Unless you are at a really big show like New York City, or Washington DC, all of the fireworks are shot from the same small area, so all of your bursts will be in a small area of the sky, which is my reason for not trying to capture too many bursts in one frame. You can copy and paste bursts from one image to another to cover more of the sky.
Hopefully there will be a good breeze for two reasons. One, a breeze keeps bugs from landing and biting as often, and second the breeze blows away the smoke from the fireworks so your images don’t get successively hazier.
All of the fireworks in the image below were coming up from the left. I copied a burst from another image and pasted it into the right side sky to help the composition.
Processing I do most of my fireworks processing in Lightroom. I usually add a good bit of contrast and adjust the exposure for a good sky tone. Decreasing the black slider also helps make the bursts stand out better. Dehaze helps most shots, and may even minimize the haze from smoke on a night with no breeze. Vibrance and saturation can help bring out the color in your bursts and you may even want to go into Lightroom’s HSL/Color panel (Color Mixer in Camera Raw) and adjust individual colors to emphasize the fireworks. If the exposure for your sky with fireworks is very different from your foreground, you may use an adjustment mask like the brush or linear gradient to balance the scene.
Build a library of fireworks bursts that you can add to scenes at a later time. See the article I refer to below. Here is just a small part of my library of fireworks bursts that I use to add to images.
How I create fireworks images now I have shot fireworks displays over a scene, but I’d be lying if I said I still do that. There are just too many variables, such as weather and being able to get a good location. Often it’s very hard to balance the fireworks exposure with the foreground, or keep people out of the image. Also the older I get, the more I hate crowds, and particularly photographing in crowds and the traffic as the crowd leaves. So what do I do? I cheat.
Over the years I have built up a library of isolated fireworks images, and if I go to photograph fireworks now, that’s all I’m after. Then I can shoot a night scene at my leisure, in good weather, and good light and add the fireworks in Photoshop. I’m able to put the fireworks where I want them and distribute them more widely than they appear at the actual show. And best of all I’m not fighting crowds or traffic. I wrote an article in the April 2018 PSC newsletter; you can find in the PSC newsletter archives, or on my website at:
I went out yesterday and grabbed a couple of shots of a train coming out of a tunnel. I got into position with about 10 minutes to spare and had time to plan my composition, and check my camera settings.
If you look at the first image below and pay attention to the shadows, you’ll see that the sun was high overhead and slightly to the right. The tunnel and tracks are in a gully, so the hillside on the left was brightly lit, the train was mostly lit by overhead raw sunlight, and the hillside on the right was more shaded. I chose to use manual exposure at 1/250 and f/8 and ISO 400. I needed the fast shutter speed to freeze the motion of the train, and I wanted f/8 for depth of field. These settings dictated the ISO 400 which is well within the good range for my camera. Once the train left the tunnel I only had about 20 seconds to shoot about 15 images, while continuously zooming out to capture the train as it got closer, so it was fortunate that I had the time to get all of my settings locked in. I also shot in RAW which gave me the most latitude in processing.
Because of the high angle of the sun on the train, the lower parts were a bit underexposed, and the brighter sun on the left hill was overexposed, but not blown out. The exposure was the best compromise, and I knew I could bring down the highlights and open up the shadows in editing. If I had increased the exposure for the train, I would have blown out highlights on the hillside that I would not have been able to recover. If I had decreased exposure for more detail in the hillside, I would have had very dark shadows in the undercarriage of the train that would not lighten without lots of noise and loss of detail.
Here is the image straight out of camera. It’s not exactly pretty, but there is enough detail to work with in both the shadows and highlights.
I was able to get the image looking much better in Lightroom, before moving on the Photoshop for final tweaks.
In Lightroom, I decreased exposure slightly, decreased highlights all the way, increased shadows a bit, and added texture, clarity and a bit of dehaze.
The Lightroom adjustments that really brought the image to life were the local adjustments using the new masking features. These have been available in the last several versions of Lightroom; they just weren’t referred to as masking. First and most important I used the radial filter inverted so changes affected what was outside of the gradient. I darkened everything but the train by 1.6 stops to pull interest toward the train. Generally, the eye goes toward the lighter parts of the image, so the extreme darkening made the train more obviously the center of interest. Certainly this was extreme and not anything like what my eye (or camera) saw, but now we’re moving toward artistic, and not just realistic.
Next I used a brush to lighten the train’s undercarriage, the front of the engine and the tunnel wall. I increased exposure by about ½ stop and increased the shadows by about 25%. You can see the areas I painted highlighted in red.
I used a second brush to do some additional darkening by decreasing exposure .64 stops, and also decreasing highlights. Again the idea is to use light and dark to bring the eye to the train.
Photoshop is where I do my final detail tweaks. On this image I cropped in just a bit to improve the composition. My biggest Photoshop tweak was to add smoke to the engine. A well run engine doesn’t produce a lot of smoke, although the engineer can make more for the visual effects. Also where’s there’s smoke, there’s fire, or at least a few embers. We’re under a burn advisory, and I suspect that had a lot to do with the lack of smoke. There are lots of smoke brushes for Photoshop that you can download for free. I used a combination of several to create my smoke and varied the opacity of the layer until it looked right to me.
Just to take it a bit further in Photoshop I applied a Gaussian blur to everything but the train. I then created a copy, and changed the blend mode to multiply which drastically darkens the image. I masked out the train, and then decreased the opacity until I like the effect.
That pretty much finished the image, but lately I’ve been experimenting with textures for that extra artistic look. Here I used Topaz Lab’s Texture Effects to add a texture effect, and then added three other textures and varied the opacity and blend modes to get the desired effect. The textures decreased contrast and lightened the image, so I finished with a contrast layer.
Here is another before and after shot, but without all of the details. In short I darkened everything but the train, lightened the train’s undercarriage, and also added some blur to everything except the train.
I hope this has given you some ideas for visualizing the possibilities in an otherwise bland image. Some of this may seem a bit extreme to you, or totally doesn’t suit your tastes. You may like the Photoshop edits, but not the textures. We don’t all have to envision an image the same way, and I would be a bit disappointed if we did. That difference in expression is what makes us photographers and artists.
As photographers we all love getting new gear, and new cameras especially. The overwhelming temptation is to tear open the box and start shooting. But I think there are some important things to do as soon as you get your camera.
As you’re unpacking, double check that everything that should be there is there. The first thing to do is find the charger and battery and plug them in to charge. While the battery is charging, read the manual to acquaint yourself with the camera’s controls and operation. Lately the trend seems to be for the manufacturer to only include a very basic manual, and have you download the advanced user’s manual online. After you download it be sure to put a copy on your phone, so you always have ready reference with you. While you’re on the manufacturer’s site download any other software and check for camera firmware updates.
After you’ve read over at least the basics of the manual, insert the battery and a memory card, attach a lens and learn the camera’s modes and controls. Many of the new cameras allow you to set up custom menu screens where you can place the menu items you use most, and that is one of the first things I do. If you already have a similar camera, it’s very helpful to set the menus up the same so switching between cameras is seamless. Go through all of the menu items and set things to your liking. This is the point where I go into custom controls and set back button focus. Set up the information screens to show the info you like to see when shooting, and turn off info you don’t need so your screen is less cluttered. Pay particular attention to autofocus settings and modes.
Now you’re ready to go and actually shoot. Try to shoot a variety of still and moving subjects in different lighting conditions. Get them into the computer and check for exposure and image sharpness. If there are issues try to figure out if it’s a settings issue, user error or an actual problem with the camera. By now you should be ready to go out and shoot with your new camera with confidence.
Here are some non-photographic items that you might not consider, or overlook in your excitement.
As I described in another article, I like to make color profiles and import presets for all of my cameras. So I shoot my color checker target in clear daylight, overcast skies, studio strobe and with my fluorescent ringlight. After shooting these color checker shots, I create camera color profiles in Lightroom, and then create import profiles that include my favorite sharpening settings and some clarity. Now every time I import images from that camera I can apply my color profiles and sharpening during the import process.
Hopefully you keep an inventory of your photography gear, so remember to add it and include the serial number, date of purchase, where you purchased it, and the price. If you have your gear insured be sure to add it to the list that you provide your insurer.
Register your new gear, either with the warranty card, or online at the manufacturer’s website. Also if you belong to something like Canon Professional Services, make sure to add it to your equipment list.
Put a small label or two with your name and phone number in an inconspicuous place. I usually place one on the base of the camera where it is covered by the L Plate and one behind the foldout screen. It may not help with a theft, but if you lose your camera it could help someone return it to you.
One of the best ways to learn a new camera (or lens) is to shoot with it exclusively for a while. That way the operation becomes second nature and you know it’s capabilities and limitations.
I also have one major “DON’T” with a new camera. Never go on a major photo trip or workshop, or shoot a commercial job or wedding until you have tested your camera and are thoroughly familiar with its operation. There are probably photographers who have violated this rule and gotten away with it, but I’ve also seen and heard of a lot of horror stories. So why risk it?
In my last article I talked about how to research a photography trip. Sometimes you may decide it’s better to go on a workshop rather than a do it yourself trip. Maybe the workshop leader is teaching a new technique that you’d like to learn or has detailed knowledge of an area that will probably guarantee a more productive outing.
Try to research the workshop and instructor, and if they will help you learn. See if the instructor posts work by students or has a group where participants share work. If you see good work being done by the students, it’s likely due to a good workshop leader. Some workshops are heavy on instruction, while others are more photo tours or photo ops and concentrate on getting you to good locations in good light, or providing subjects you want to photograph, while assuming you know basic photography. Also pay attention to any physical requirements mentioned in the workshop. At best you won’t enjoy a workshop beyond your abilities; at worst you may get overly fatigued or even injured.
Even though a good workshop has already done a lot of the research for you, you should still do some basic research. What will the weather be like and what clothing do you need to bring to cover the possibilities? What equipment do you need to bring? Some workshops provide a list of suggested clothing and equipment, or you can probably contact the leader.
Some workshops include lodging and/or meals; others require you to make your own reservations. Make your reservations as soon as possible, so you don’t wind up staying far from the group.
Trip insurance should be something you consider. The last two years have forced a lot of cancelled travel plans and even workshops. Also be sure your travel plan includes medical care and medical evacuation if you are out of the country.
When I can, I like to get to the workshop location at least a day in advance to get acclimated and recover from jet lag. Going early also helps eliminate anxiety if there are travel delays.
Once the workshop begins, meet the instructor and the other participants. Be on your best behavior and hope everyone else will be also (more on this later). Besides making new friends, you may find that you will learn from other participants as well as the instructor.
Often there is work to be done setting up, hauling gear, packing up afterwards and generally organizing. Whenever you can jump in and share the work; don’t be the one who sits back, doesn’t help and expects to be waited on.
When you are out shooting, watch where others are shooting, and don’t get in someone else’s photo. You may think you’re ok, but if the other photographer is shooting with a very wide angle lens you may intrude without knowing it. It’s always safe to ask “Am I in your shot?” Conversely, you know what your reputation will be if you are constantly charging in front of others. Often the workshop leader will start with group shooting from a distance, and move the group forward in stages; follow his directions.
If there is something you don’t understand, then ask for help, but try not to be the one talking and asking questions constantly and not allowing anyone else to learn. Also you may find that you will learn from your fellow photographers. Usually you will figure pretty quickly who the good photographers are. Glance at what the instructor and other photographers are shooting. Even though there may image reviews in the evening, it’s better to see what’s working while you are still in the field and can be sure you get a good shot, rather than find out what you missed that evening.
There may be one best viewpoint or several good shooting locations. If there is one best location, don’t monopolize it; share and later they will return the favor. Sometimes a location is so cramped that it’s difficult to even get a tripod in position. I’ve been in a couple of situations where once someone got their tripod in position, we left it in place and just swapped photographers and cameras. Of course this works best if everyone is using a common attachment like Arca Swiss plates.
Don’t forget to stop and just enjoy the location, without even taking a photo. Also with a good group, meals and breaks can be a very enjoyable part of the event.
Be flexible! Even the best workshop leader can’t control the weather, crowds, government shutdowns and road closings. The he best leaders do adapt quickly, or already have plan B or C ready. Go with the flow and you may still have a great workshop.
I’ll finish off with some stories of good and bad workshop behavior I’ve seen on some of my trips. Names will be omitted to protect the innocent (or guilty) photographers.
The Bad
I went to one workshop that was supposed to have a couple of hours of class in the morning before an afternoon of shooting. “Class” turned out to be a half hour of the photographer telling us how great he was, followed by an hour of him bashing a line of equipment that no longer sponsored him. When it came time to shoot, he was pretty much absent and we were on our own. Not surprisingly I don’t see him doing workshops any more.
I was on one workshop where there was a leader and about 30 photographers. This many photographers requires clear and firm direction to keep us out of each other’s way. What we got was an instructor who was wrapped up in working on his off camera flash technique, rather than paying attention to the group. To make things worse, he had his assistant out in front of us with the flash, and I lost a lot of good shots because the assistant was in my shot.
At a similar shoot, we had about 30 photographers and a very organized, attentive instructor who lined us up in a line so we didn’t block each other. Then one totally oblivious photographer proceeded to walk out in front of everybody and up and down the line. Our instructor tried unsuccessfully to reign her in (she really did her best short of tackling her), and she pulled this a few more times. We all took to yelling and screaming at her, but she remained totally oblivious or just didn’t care. Don’t be that photographer!
On another workshop we ran into one of those situations where there really was one best viewpoint. Most of us in the group were used to shooting together and sharing a location. But not one photographer. He ran in front of everyone to stake out the location and despite subtle and not so subtle hints to move for a minute and share the location, he didn’t budge. Years later we still gripe about him, and certainly we’d never willingly shoot in a group with him again.
The Good
I went out to Colorado for the Durango Silverton Fall photographers weekend. Each day we had about forty photographers on board and the train would stop at scenic locations, put the photographers out, and back up out of sight and then make a photo run or two. The group was about fifty percent hardcore photographers who also like trains, and about fifty percent hardcore train fanatics who did some photography or video. Our group leader did a phenomenal job of lining us up and making sure everyone had a clear shot and no one was blocking anyone else before he radioed the engineer to bring the train in. For two days, ten locations a day he kept us perfectly organized. Talking to him later I found out that among other things, he was a roller derby announcer, so I guess he was used to much rougher crowds.
On a winter wildlife workshop our leader did a lot helpful instruction, and managed us well in the field. Even though he was shooting, he made sure everyone else was getting good shots. When another photographer’s camera died (probably due to the subzero cold), he didn’t hesitate. He pulled the card out of his camera and handed his camera over and had them put their card in his camera and keep shooting. That’s a leader who really cares about his students more than about getting his own shots.
As I write this (Feb 2022) Covid finally seems to be waning and hopefully travel and photography workshops will begin to return to normal. Start looking for workshops that interest you, and hopefully you’ll come back with good photos, good stories, and new friends.
Some advance research and preparation can make any photography trip more pleasant and productive. Even if you’re going on a workshop, where hopefully the leader has done much of the research for you, there are still things that you should check for yourself. Here are some of the basics that I look for. With all of the information available to us on the internet, it has never been easier to prepare.
Where to Shoot
Often I get ideas for where to go from seeing an image or talking to other photographers. Once I have a general area in mind, I find it useful to see what other photographers have done in that location. Go to https://500px.com/ and search for the name of a location. You will see dozens if not hundreds of images. Pay attention to the time of year and time of day. Clicking on a picture will show you details like the photographer’s name, camera and lens, date and time. I have even used this to contact photographers and have gotten good suggestions.
When I see images I like, I try to keep them in mind as starting points, not something to try to duplicate. Often the best shots aren’t the “post card shots” but if they present themselves, take them because family and friends will expect to see those shots. I try very hard not to go on a shoot with certain exact images in mind. If you don’t get that image for whatever reason, you have set yourself up for disappointment. And while you are trying so hard to find that exact shot, you may be blind to other great shots around you. Try to be flexible and work with what’s in front of you.
Locationscout (https://www.locationscout.net/) is more about the location and how to get there; sometimes right down to where to park and where to walk. As of right now it’s not very comprehensive, but it is expanding constantly.
Use google to search for “Best places to photograph in _____________”. Sometimes you’ll find a lot, sometimes nothing. And you’ll definitely see a wide range of photography skills. I also usually search for “photographers in _________________”, and visit their web pages. You’ll have to wade through a lot of wedding and portrait photographer’s sites, but you may also find someone shooting the types of subjects you like. Again, you might make contact and get suggestions, or even arrange to meet and shoot together. Wikipedia may be useful for general information about an area. Also search Amazon for guide books of the area, and don’t forget AAA guidebooks, and information available at welcome and tourist information centers.
I always find it handy to have paper maps (phones fail or lose signal), and I carry a GPS and enter all of my hotels, restaurants, airports, rental cars and photo destinations in advance so I spend less time lost.
This is just a part of what I found by typing “Portland Maine” into the search field of 500PX.
Getting There
Will you be flying or driving? Are rental cars available? Is the location you want easily accessible by car or will you need an off-road vehicle? Will the location require a long hike or climb, and can you handle the physical challenge? Don’t forget that smaller regional jets, or even smaller prop planes may limit how much gear you can carry and how to pack it. In these days, don’t forget to check on Covid related requirements, especially travelling overseas. Check the CDC website for information and requirements for all countries. You might also check the State Department website for risks associated with traveling to various countries. Ukrainian vacation anyone? While you’re doing all of this research, create a document with the addresses and phone numbers of your hotels, restaurants, rental car location and airport. Also include each flight number, times and any shuttle times. Save it as a pdf and put a copy on your phone, and it’s available to you quickly anytime.
Weather
Research weather history using your favorite weather site. I like weather underground, and I’ll look at the monthly history of the area going back several years. Also I’m watching weather right up to my departure date so I can either change the clothing I carry or even cancel or postpone if necessary. Having the right clothes for the weather can definitely be the difference between a miserable, unpleasant experience, or staying comfortable so you can concentrate on photography. Don’t forget rain gear for both you and your camera. Don’t forget to research sunrise and sunset times. An app like Photo Pills on your phone will show you the location of the sun, moon or even the Milky Way on any date and time. If you’re shooting around coastal areas, you can find high and low tide times. I have a tide app on my phone. Nothing you can do to reschedule them, but you may be able to pick a day when the tides and lighting you want will coincide.
Gear
As you are looking at images, see what lenses and focal lengths others are using. If you have visited there before use the Metadata search features in Lightroom to see which lenses and focal lengths you used in thepast. That can help you minimize the number of lenses you carry. Also I’m a big fan of all-in-one travel lenses, with maybe a very wide angle zoom as a second lens. Will you need to shoot flash? And if so, is power available or will you be using batteries and are extras available in the area? If this is a once in a lifetime trip, you should consider a backup camera, especially if you are not near a city with a camera store. For me, a tripod is a given, but it will be a large sturdy one for landscapes, or a smaller one for travel photography. Plan how to carry your gear to your destination and once you’re there.
Here’s a clip of my Lightroom metadata of all of my Maine photos. Only 5 were taken with my 24-70 lens, so I won’t bother carrying that heavy lens again. Only 1 shot was taken with a 100-400, but I borrowed that one. On the right hand panel, you can even see how many shots were taken at any focal length.
Lodging and Restaurants
I have found that it’s best to book rooms in advance. There is nothing worse than travelling and photographing all day only to find that all of the area hotels are full. It also pays to search for area restaurants to make sure they will be open at that time of year and what hours. This is a major consideration in areas with extreme weather and well defined tourist seasons.
Special Events
Some areas may have special events at various times of the year. You may enjoy the events and associated crowds, but hotels may be harder and more expensive to book. Parking may be difficult or nonexistent. If there are admission fees, will you need to arrange them in advance? Personally I avoid the special events, since I don’t enjoy crowds, and photography is usually more difficult. And again, since as of this writing, Covid is still rampart, what are the mask and/or vaccine requirements? You have to make the decision on whether it is worth the risk.
Once You’re There
Even after all of your careful research, stuff happens. I’ve shown up at a hotel that looked OK on the website, only to find something that would make the Addams Family nervous. I’ve had to sit in the hotel and watch downpours and thunderstorms for days straight. I’ve blocked out a whole day to go train chasing a steam locomotive, only find that it broke down the night before. I’ve shot for a week in “severe clear” weather which means bald, and uninteresting skies. I’m sure most of you have your own horror stories. Be flexible, and try to have a plan B. If it’s nasty outside, are there some interior shots to do? Or take the time to do laundry, shop and prepare for the next day.
One of my friends says his goal at every location is to take the best picture that’s ever been taken there. But when the weather and other elements are against you, my more achievable goal is to take the best picture that anyone could possibly take under the existing circumstances. It may take ten or twenty tries to get that really perfect picture, but that’s what keeps us challenged.
One of the things that will help you grow as a photographer and increase your enjoyment is to photograph with a friend or a small group of friends. I’ll do an article in the future on how to get the most from a photo workshop or tour, but this is like a small and informal workshop. Over the years I’ve shot with varying groups of friends, and I know it has helped me improve my photography just as I hope it has helped them. During 2020 (the year of Covid) I went on numerous trips photographing barns and rural Tennessee with groups of 1, 2, or 3 fellow photographers. In addition to helping our photography I think it helped keep us all sane and active.
One of my favorite barn shots of 2020 came from a group trip. We had a goal in mind, and a general area to explore. Most of our good shots came from just exploring backroads and keeping an eye out for good images.
While you can certainly photograph alone, and many do, there are lots of advantages to photographing with a group. It’s important to have a group of compatible photographers who enjoy working together. I also feel that a small group of four or less works best. Once that number increases beyond four, you get into having multiple vehicles, more logistical problems and it becomes more like a workshop (nothing wrong with workshops), but this is meant to be more fun and informal.
One of the biggest reasons to shoot with a group is that it forces you to get out and shoot, when you might not feel like it otherwise. Getting out of bed at 4 AM to go shoot a sunrise is hard; it’s easy (too easy) to roll over and go back to sleep. But if you have committed to meeting the group, you don’t want to feel like you’re letting them down. I can almost guarantee that some of the rest feel the same way, but for the sake of the group, they all make themselves get going too. Now think of how many times you planned a shoot by yourself, and decided it was too early, too far, too late or too boring and talked yourself out of the shoot. Now think of how many times shooting with other photographers forced you to get moving and go.
It’s not easy to force yourself out of bed at 4AM to be in position waiting for sunrise. Group motivation makes it easier; images like this make it worthwhile.
Some considerations in selecting the members of the group
Not everybody has to be at the same skill level. Within the group, everybody can learn and get ideas from all of the other photographers. Not everyone has to like all of the same subjects, but it is good if you share a core of basic interests. With that in mind, go with the group even if the shoot isn’t something that really interests you. You still may learn some new skills, or get some shots that surprise you. Pay attention to what the others are shooting. You may see subjects and viewpoints that you might have overlooked.
If others in the group shoot the same brand of equipment, it can be a great opportunity to borrow and test new equipment before investing. And someone who uses the same camera can be a great resource for learning the features and operations that you may not already know. Also on a more extended trip, shooters with the same equipment can do some preplanning to make sure there are backups for key equipment without everyone having to carry everything.
Making the outings fun and productive
Ideally everyone in the group is constantly on the lookout for good, subjects, location and weather that would make for an interesting image. Everyone does basic research, and more in depth research when the group chooses their location. I’ll say more about how to research a location in a later article. It’s important that this is a shared responsibility, so everyone shares the workload. If one person is constantly having to arrange the trips, they will feel more like an unpaid workshop leader.
I’ve mentioned several times that our photo trips almost always include food. And if I’m really honest, some of our trips are more about eating and photography is almost just an excuse to go somewhere good to eat. So finding a good place to eat is always an important part of our research for new locations.
It’s good to share and rotate driving duties, so no one is over used and abused. In our group, the unwritten rule is that on longer out of town trips, passengers kick in for gas or buy lunch. It’s also great if one person helps with navigation, so the driver can concentrate on driving. Also passengers should be looking for unplanned shots along the way. Many of my best shots came before or after reaching our main destination. Good pictures are wherever and whenever you find them. Also keep an eye out for things that might be good shots with better light or skies or at a different time of day. You may not get the shot this time, but keep it in mind for later.
After a shoot share and compare images. This can be by email, websites, or prints. It’s always interesting to see how others shot an edited the same or similar subjects.
Your group doesn’t have to be the same all of the time. The number and individual members will frequently vary. Just as variety in photography is beneficial, the different ideas and viewpoints of different group members can help spark creativity.
While there are workshops, and club fieldtrips (and they each have their strengths and advantages), I think you will really enjoy the more informal and frequent small group outings. They are more likely to get you out moving, and there is much more collective knowledge and creativity in multiple minds. In our own photography club, (PSC) I’ve seen several groups form based on interests and even where the members live. I feel this is one of the ways to get the most out of belonging to a camera club. Start small with maybe just one friend, and then gradual expand as you find like-minded photographers.
One of the most useful features in Lightroom is Virtual Copies. As a quick reminder, when you edit an image in Lightroom (LR), you are not making changes to the original image. Rather, you are creating a set of instructions that tells LR how to display this image. These instructions are stored in the LR catalog. As a result, if you use a file manager to copy an image that has been edited in LR, or open the image in another program, you won’t see the edits, only the original image. To use the image with LR edits, you must export the image from LR.
Virtual copies are simply copies of the image with new and different editing instructions. The master image is not altered or duplicated. And because a virtual copy is nothing more than a new set of instructions it takes up almost no disk space. The virtual copies exist only within LR’s catalog, and if you go looking for these virtual copies with a file manager, you won’t find them because they exist only as sets of instructions in the LR Catalog.
So, what are some reasons to use virtual copies? Let’s say you want to look at several different ways of editing or cropping your image, and still have the original for comparison. Or maybe you have an image that you need to use in several places, but one needs to be cropped vertical, one square, and one horizontal. Virtual copies are the perfect solution.
To create a virtual copy, right click on an image and choose create virtual copy, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl (Cmd) + ‘. You can make as many virtual copies of an image as you like. Virtual copies can be recognized by the folded up lower left corner.
You can export virtual copies, or send them to Photoshop for further editing. To delete a virtual copy, select and hit delete, or right click and choose remove photo. In either case you’ll be asked if you want to remove the copy from LR. This will not delete the original image from LR or from the disk.
I use virtual copies regularly to try different looks or frequently to have different cropping versions readily available. If you have never tried using virtual copies, I think you will quickly realize how handy they are, and you’ll find ways to incorporate them into your workflow.
I’ve gotten several questions lately about some of my infrared images and how they are made. So here is a quick primer on digital infrared photography.
Infrared (IR) light is invisible to the eye and has wavelengths longer than about 750 nm (nanometers) up to 1000 nm. By comparison visible light has wavelengths between 380 and 740 nm. Digital camera sensors are sensitive to infrared light, but camera manufacturers use filters to block the infrared light, so that it doesn’t interfere with image production on the sensor by visible light. So to photograph in infrared a camera must be converted by having the IR filter removed, and replaced by a filter that lets IR light pass through. Some filters will allow a mixture of visible and IR to pass through, while others block almost all visible light. Depending on the wavelength of the filter we either get colored infrared (lower wavelength filter) or almost pure black and white (higher wavelength filters).
There are a number of companies providing IR conversions, but the one I am most familiar with is LifePixel (https://www.lifepixel.com/). Years ago I had my old Canon 20D converted to their “super color” filter (590 nm), and last year I had my old Canon 5D Mark II converted to their “Deep Infra Red” 830 nm.
I found that I didn’t really like the color IR option. It requires a lot of manipulation, including shooting a custom color balance, swapping the red and blue channels in Photoshop, and the effects are somewhat unpredictable. I really like the look of the deep infrared black and white. Of course it is possible to convert a color infrared image to B&W in Lightroom or Photoshop.
A color IR from my “super Color” converted Canon 20D after Red and Blue channel swap and color balance adjustments.
A Black and White conversion form the color shot above.
Another color IR after Red and Blue channel swap.
There are lots of tutorials available on the LifePixel site for both color and black and white, with tips on shooting and processing. But here I’ll give you some tips I have learned shooting with the deep Infrared (B&W) filter.
The first issue is exposure. The meter is still sensitive to some visible light, and the balance between visible and IR light in a scene affects the meter’s accuracy. Consider the meter a starting point, and look at the LCD and histogram. I find that I generally have to dial in +2 stops of compensation. I cover myself by shooting brackets for HDR, so with +2 compensation, my brackets are generally 0/+2/+4. In a scene with a higher ratio of IR, I may only use +1 or even no compensation. My eye still isn’t trained enough to know how a scene will meter, so I watch the LCD and histogram after each shot. And of course, shoot at the lowest possible ISO.
IR light focuses differently from visible light. At the factory after conversion the camera focus is calibrated to a specific lens, usually the 50mm or normal lens. Other lenses may not focus as accurately, so I cover myself by shooting at f/11 or f/16.
Even with the 830 nm filter, the sensor still receives some visible light and it comes into Lightroom with a strong reddish cast. I solved this by creating an import filter that automatically converts the image to Adobe Monochrome color profile.
I find the IR images are very flat and low contrast. So why do I shoot HDR when it wouldn’t seem to be needed? I have two reasons. First it helps compensate for slight exposure errors, and second I add a LOT of contrast, texture, clarity and sometimes dehaze, and the HDR image keeps the noise in the shadows from becoming excessive, and keeps highlights from blowing out details.
After processing in Lightroom, I send the image to Photoshop. Here I do some mild high pass sharpening, and then use the tonal contrast filter in NIK Color Efex. I then use the NIK Silver Efex Black and White conversion program. Yes, the image is already black and white, but Silver Efex gives me more control over the final image. I find the most useful presets are high structure smooth or harsh, and full dynamic range smooth or harsh. I’ll often process one layer smooth, and another layer harsh, and blend them to keep the sky smooth while bringing out detail in the main subject.
For me, the subjects that just scream B&W infrared are scenes with deep blue skies with puffy white clouds, and lots of trees with green leaves (chlorophyll reflects a lot of IR), and even better if the leaves are backlit. On my recent trip to Yosemite I actually shot more infrared than color. But in the towns of Santa Barbra and Carmel it didn’t come out of the bag. I don’t find IR pleasing for tight portraits, but it can be interesting for an environmental portrait.
Some of you joined in last night to watch our April program, Lisa Langell’s zoom presentation on high key photography. Those of you who weren’t there missed a good presentation. Lisa covered types of lighting and subjects that work well for high key, and her favorite light is an even cloudy sky that is lighter than the main subject acting as a backlight.
So this morning when I looked out the window and saw cloudy skies, and also saw some pale purple irises blooming, I decided to put her ideas to the test. For 30 years I’ve really considered myself mostly a studio photographer. I like all the control I have over light, background, and composition in my studio. So today I’m comparing my studio results with some shots done outdoors against the cloudy sky. Let’s see which images win. I did an article last year on shooting high key flowers without the comparison.
The Outdoor Setup
I used a camera with a 100mm macro lens on a tripod. I also placed a silver reflector over my lens for an even fill. I found that it easiest to aim the camera at the brightest part of the sky first, and then position the flower where it needed to be. The flower was held in place with a Wimberly “Plamp” which is standard equipment for flower photographers.
This was my first set up. While the light worked, what I couldn’t control was the breeze, the enemy of flower photographers worldwide.
Even though my normal instinct would be to retreat to the studio, I only retreated as far as the garage. It’s the same setup, still using the sky as backlight, only it’s just a couple of feet inside the garage so the wind is blocked.
The Studio Setup
Here is my studio setup. The only difference is that I’ve replaced a cloudy sky with a large softbox.
So how did my studio and outdoors shots compare? Can I tell the studio shots from the outdoor shots? To quote Dirty Harry Callahan, “Well to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I kind of lost track myself.” Actually I can tell, but only by looking at the EXIF information. Also Lisa mentioned that these images lend themselves well to textures so I played around with Topaz texture effects, and also adding my own textures.
Here is a studio shot and an outdoor shot. These needed only minimal editing in Lightroom. I’ll bet you can’t tell which is which. And no I’m not telling you; feel free to guess.
For our March 2021 PSC program, Knoxville professional photographer Colby McLemore did a presentation on why to enter photography contests, and as part of that he did several image critiques. Several times while critiquing images, Colby mentioned color balance that didn’t look quite right. In some of my earlier articles I discussed the use of a gray card (see March 2020 newsletter) and creating and using camera color profiles (see April 2020 newsletter). These two steps will get your images into your editing software with good color balance. Today we’ll talk about step three which is calibrating your monitor so that your computer monitor actually reflects the accurate colors that steps one and two produced in your editing software. If you print, step four is using color profiles for your printer that fine tune your prints to match your monitor. If you don’t do your own printing or, if like many of us, your work is mainly shown onscreen, the first three steps are all you need.
There are two monitor calibration tools in common use. I use the Datacolor Spyder X and the other is the X-Rite i1 Display Pro (its older version was called the Color Munki). Both of these come with software for both Windows and Mac computers. Basically both of these units use their software to create images of known color onscreen and the sensor reads it, compares it to what it should be, and after sampling a large range of colors, it creates a monitor profile that your computer loads at startup to create accurate colors. As monitors change with age this calibration needs to be repeated every few months (I recalibrate every three months). A calibrator is under $200, and closer to $100 if you find a good sale. That’s a bargain when you consider it will help every picture you take.
One of the first questions people ask is “Why should I calibrate my monitor if other people seeing my images may not be using a calibrated monitor?” First, that may be true. Someone may be looking at your image on a monitor with horrible color balance and brightness. There’s not much you can do about that, but at least you know you sent out the best possible image. Second, truly serious photographers, and that includes photo judges, will be using calibrated monitors. So if your color balance is off, they will know it.
The next question is “I already use camera profiles and a gray card, so why do I need to calibrate my monitor?”. Even with profiles and gray cards, if your monitor is not calibrated, your color balance will look wrong to you on screen. If you then make adjustments by eye, you will be undoing the accuracy of the profiles and gray cards. And it’s not just the color balance, but the exposure that can suffer.
Whichever calibrator you use it is important that you calibrate and edit with consistent ambient lighting. Most calibrators have an adjustment for the ambient brightness, but if you edit in light that is too bright or direct light hits your screen, the software will have you increase the brightness of your monitor (just as you have to turn up your phone’s screen brightness in bright sun). So then an image that looks good on your monitor will look dark on a calibrated monitor in properly dim ambient light. Also prints you send to a lab will probably be a bit too dark. My editing computer is in my studio with very bright fluorescent lighting. To edit, I turn off the overhead fluorescents and use two tabletop LED lamps positioned so that no light hits the monitors. Don’t overlook this ambient light part of the equation; it’s critical.
It’s also important to warm up your monitor, set the contrast to default or 50% if it’s adjustable, and set your monitor’s color temperature (if it’s adjustable) to the setting recommended by your calibrator.
This is the opening screen of the Spyder X software which I use. It reminds you to warm up, check ambient light, and reset some basic monitor settings before calibrating.
Be sure your ambient lighting is not too bright, and the first step will be for the calibrator to measure the ambient light and tell you how to properly set your monitor’s brightness.
The next step will be to place the monitor on the screen while the software displays various colors for the unit to read. Typically, this takes several minutes, depending somewhat on the speed of your computer.
After reading all of the colors, the software will create a color profile, and ask you to give it a name. It will also show you a before and after comparison image so you can see the effect of the calibration. My before and after changes are pretty subtle, and may not reproduce well in the newsletter PDF, but they make a real difference in the final edit of my images.
Here is the image before calibration:
And the image after calibration.
If you have two monitors, you will have to calibrate each one separately. I also name my profiles to include whether it is the left or right monitor and the date it was created. Now every time you start your computer, these profiles will load in place of the computer’s default profile. On a Windows machine, you can right click the screen, and choose display properties and you can verify that the correct profile(s) loaded. I have found that changing graphics card (no surprise there) or even replacing the monitor cable (that was a surprise!) will cause your computer to switch back to its default profiles. Just for peace of mind, it’s a good idea to periodically check that the right drivers are loading. There is probably a way to check on a Mac machine, but I’m not familiar with them.
So if you use all three steps, that is camera profiles, gray cards, and monitor calibration, your colors should be pretty much spot on. Certainly it should be good enough that color balance issues shouldn’t hurt your scoring in a competition. Oh and those people looking at your images on their un-calibrated monitors? That’s their problem, but now you know it’s not yours.
